Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Last
week was not a good week for top-40 radio fans. News came out that two
of the people who helped shape the format -- Charlie Tuna and John Rook
-- passed away. Tuna is a legend in this town; this week I will focus on
him; next week I’ll speak of the many accomplishments of Rook.

Charlie
Tuna is a name almost everyone who grew up listening to KHJ (930 AM) --
or most recently KRTH (101.1 FM) -- knows. Legendary doesn’t quite
describe Tuna, who arrived in Los Angeles in 1967 to be among the
original KHJ Boss Jocks, first following Robert W. Morgan in the 9 a.m.
to 12 noon shift and eventually taking over mornings when Morgan left.
Twice. His first show in 1967 came on Thanksgiving Day, Tuna on
Thanksgiving.

He
came by way of KGFW in his hometown of Keraney, Nebraska where he used
his given name of Art Ferguson on the air. After that it was Wichita,
Kansas (as “Billy O’Day”), Oklahoma City where he took on the name
Charlie Tuna as the end result of a station;s inside joke, and then KHJ.
On KHJ the original plan was to use his given name; a few days before
his first shift management decided to stick with Tuna, which he used
ever since.

It
is said that Tuna was part of more stations and air-shift times than
any other DJ in and around Los Angeles, and that may be right. Besides
KHJ where he hosted mornings under different programmers and three
different tenures, he was on the original KROQ (then at 1500 AM), the
great KKDJ (now 102.7 FM) which Tuna oversaw becoming a simulcast of
KIIS (1150 AM and new call letters for 102.7 FM), KTNQ (1020 AM), KHTZ
(now KAMP, 97.1 FM), the original KRLA (now KDIS, 1110 AM), KODJ (now
KCBS-FM, 93.1), KMPC (now KSPN 710 AM), KABC (790 AM), KIKF (now KEBN
94.3 FM), KLAC (570 AM), KBIG (104.3 FM), and of course KRTH.

He
was the announcer on numerous television shows, acted in movies, had
syndicated radio programs on stations throughout the United States, was
heard on Armed Forces radio, voiced numerous commercials, and until
recently was the voice of KDOC Channel 56.

In
1971 just prior to the Sylmar earthquake, he signed on for his morning
shift on KHJ, mentioning that he had trouble sleeping and was “feeling a
little shaky” due to a recurring dream. As the first song of his shift
spun on the record player, “Born to Wonder” by Rare Earth, the quake hit
and the record record started warbling. Eventually the station was
knocked off the air

.

Through
everything and through the years, he was absolutely upbeat with the
same pipes he had as a hip young Boss Jock. He sounded as great this
year as in 1967, and he never wanted to focus on the past. “I think I
have the best job in the world, and I’m having as much fun on the air
now as I ever have,” he told me in an interview from his KBIG days.

He
passed away in his sleep at what I consider a too-young 71 years old.
He had been ill for a few weeks and doctors couldn’t figure out what it
was. He leaves behind his wife, two daughters and two sons, who ask that
memorial donations be made to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Tuna’s
longtime charity.

Tributes

VERSATILE PERSONALITY

“What
I’ll always remember about Mr. Ferguson is is versatility. He was at
710/KMPC when they were all sports, I remember the late Joe McDonnell
greeting Charlie Tuna while McDonnell-Douglas were doing their afternoon
show. Tuna was there preparing for the next day’s morning program, Big
Joe admired Tuna’s work ethic.

“Whatever
format he was doing, Charlie Tuna came prepared. I also heard him on
KIK Country (KIKF) as well as doing both Top 40, Adult Contemporary, and
Oldies at different L.A. outlets. Best to his family and friends.” — Alan Oda

CHARLIE – A CAREER SAVER!

“It
was 1976…about 18 months after leaving my first radio job at KDES-Palm
Springs, to join the fading former Orange County AM Giant, KEZY
1190-Anaheim. In March of ’76, the management decided to fire us all…the
entire line-up of DJs to create a new image with a new team (didn’t
work!).

“I
arrived at the station around 3pm before my nightly 7pm show after
finishing an appearance that afternoon with another KEZY DJ, Paul
Freeman, at an Irvine school to promote our big March of Dimes
Walkathon. In my In Box was a memo from management announcing our
termination (no warning, no phone call, no meeting).

“I
read it in the lobby in disbelief when the receptionist pointed out
that I had another message in my box. It was a phone message that
Charlie Tuna, then Program Director of KIIS AM & FM had called me to
offer me a job! He already knew that I was out of work and had a job
for me the next day. That job at KIIS-FM lasted over 7 years, and I
ended up being the Program Director there for several years before
moving on to Corporate Programming jobs.

“Thank you Charlie!

“I
last saw him a few years ago at a live remote he was doing on K-EARTH
at the OC FAIR. He sounded just the same as he always did. Was glad to
work with him again at KRLA, where I was Program Director and where he
did mornings for a few years.” —-Mike Wagner

TO MY FRIEND

“In
November of 1967, I was the engineer sitting across from the KHJ Boss
Jocks. I played records and commercials. All the DJ had to do was be a
great DJ. My first shift of the day was 9AM to 12Noon. My second shift
was 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. with The Real Don Steele. But one day during
that November, a lanky new Boss Jock was introduced in the 9AM to 12Noon
slot. His name was Charlie Tuna. Actually, his real name was Art
Ferguson, but the station programmers liked Charlie Tuna better.

“Within
a short few weeks, Charlie asked me to bring along my wife, and join
him and his wife at their apartment in North Hollywood. We ate pizza and
watched Laugh In. That turned into a regular Monday night thing for us
all. Charlie would talk about some of the bits he was going to do and I
would sometimes add a very small fraction of the humor. The Monday night
hook-ups were great because it prepared us both for the shows that
would follow.

“Spending
three hours a day with any one person draws you very close. It doesn’t
take long before you’re sharing great stories. I was already enjoying
that closeness with The Real Don Steele. Getting to know Charlie Tuna
was equally enjoyable. There are thousands of memories I’ll never
forget.

“When
Charlie and his wife Sharri moved to Tarzana, it would be where he
lived the rest of his life. His legacy as one of the premier Los Angeles
air personalities came full circle. His first LA station was KHJ. His
last station in LA was K-Earth. Back in 1967, K-Earth was KHJ-FM.” — John Badeaux